McKenna

American Girl: McKenna #1

by Mary Casanova, Brian C. Hailes (Illustrator)

McKenna has always excelled at school and in gymnastics, but now that she's entering fourth grade, school suddenly feels hard to her. When McKenna’s teacher suggests she get a reading tutor, she's horrified - until she gets to know her tutor, Josie, who is super-confident and who also happens to be in a wheelchair. Josie helps McKenna realize that what might seem like a giant roadblock is really just a series of small obstacles that can be overcome one by one, day by day. McKenna’s confidence starts to blossom, but then something happens at the gym that sidelines her completely. Will she recover in time to join the competitive team in the spring?

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Childrens, Contemporary, Chapter Books, Juvenile

131 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2011

About the author

Mary Casanova is an award-winning children's author of novels and picture books. Many of her books stem from her life on the Minnesota-Canadian border; yet some of her stories have taken her as far away as France, Norway, and Belize for research. Whatever the setting for her books, Casanova writes stories that matter--and stories that kids can't put down.

Her book awards include: American Library Association "Notable," Aesop Accolades by the American Folklore Society, Parents' Choice "Gold" Award, Booklist Editor Choice, and two Minnesota Book Awards. Her books frequently land on state children's choice book master lists across the country. "The greatest reward for me," Casanova states, "is when a young reader tells me she or he loves one of my books. For me, it's all about communicating writer-to-reader through a character and story."

Casanova grew up in a family of ten children in St. Paul, Minnesota. In a bustling camp-like atmosphere, Casanova found that writing became her voice. "Words are my paintbrush," she explains, "my way of exploring the world around me."

Now, with 19 books published and many more under contract and forthcoming, she divides her time between writing and traveling. Nationally and internationally, at schools and conferences, Casanova shares her love of writing and reading with children and adults.

Her newest novel, The Klipfish Code, makes use of Mary's on-site research in Norway. The story explores an important facet of Norwegian history through the experiences of Marit, a 12-year-old Norwegian girl who finds a way to fight against the 5-year Nazi occupation of Norway. Marit and her brother Lars are separated from their parents (who are working for the Resistance) and sent to live on an island with their gruff grandfather and school teacher aunt. During the course of the story, Marit's aunt is one of the Norwegian school teachers that gets sent to a concentration camp for refusing to integrate Nazi propaganda into her classroom. With potential danger waiting every turn, Marit finds a way to help the Resistance and eventually reunite her family.

Mary's series, Dog Watch (Simon and Schuster) is based on her northern Minnesota village where dogs are allowed to roam free—as long as they don't get in trouble. If they get in trouble, they earn a sticker on their page at the village clerk's office; too many stickers and a trouble-making dog must remain at home. "I never know where the next story will come from. It’s a delight when the stories come right from this corner of the world I call home." She makes her home in a 100-year old house on Rainy Lake with her husband, Charles, and their three "above average" dogs and spends free time with their horses, Jay and Midnight.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a great book, about a girl who dose gymnastics, She isn' t doing so well at school so she gets tutored. She broke her leg an has to stop gymnastics fir a while. Will her leg get better do she can get onto the competitive team or will she have to wait? Will she get better at school? Read the book to find out . It is an realistic fiction, it's also an easy read.

[Catie Ewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

An quick read, but still enjoyable. [[In the book, McKenna falls behind and school and she needs a tutor for reading. Her gymnastics are going great and then disaster strikes!]] Shh... I won't spoil anything more!

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this chapter book about two characters with exceptionalities. McKenna is a gymnast who must keep her grades up if she wants to continue gymnastics and she faces the challenge of having a learning disability. She struggles in school and soon finds help with a tutor. The tutor has a mobility disability and uses a wheel chair. This is a great story about overcoming personal obstacles with support and kindness to one another. McKenna is a role model for preteen girls who are coming into the age of being worried about being popular or fitting in. Everyone has struggles and she learns how to overcome hers. I would recommend this book for 4-6 grade.

[Alyssa Hanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book McKenna by Mary Casanova is about a young gymnast who is in the fourth grade. McKenna loves gymnastics, she is working towards making the competitive team. Her whole life is about gymnastics at this point, causing her to fall behind in school. Her teacher Mr.Wu notices this, and decides she needs a tutor. At first McKenna did not like the idea of having a tutor and kept it a secret from all her friends and teammates. When people she knew walked into the library which is where she studied McKenna would hide. She lied to her team and said the reason she was leaving class early was because she was getting extra training at gymnastics. But later on McKenna begins to love having a tutor when she noticed her work and reading becoming a lot easier. Her tutor Josie also begins to become her friend. McKenna had a showcase at gymnastics to preform all her routines for everyone two months before the tryouts for team. McKenna was doing her beam routine and dismounted the wrong way causing her to break her ankle. She can't do gymnastics until she is healed. Will McKenna be able to heal in time to tryout? Will she continue to keep up her great performance in school? Find out by reading McKenna by Mary Casanova.

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sarah is now very into American Girl dolls. And listening to me read the books aloud. We have read the Kitt Kittridge series and now these two. My knowledge of the books are based on that somewhat small sample of AG books (there are quite a few). The Kitt books I loved. Good writing, historic details about the Depression, character building problems (Kitt is concerned about helping the family make it financially). The "girl of the year" books don't offer the historical piece because they are current. They do offer some learning about different parts of the country, in this book, Seattle. What I don't like is the interpersonal drama between friends that is such a huge part of the story. They read like a soap opera: friends getting jealous of other friends, telling lies "white lies" to each other . . . ugh. That said, these books are written for 9-10 year olds so my daughter is on the young side for the stories, but still, I love books that show girls being friends instead of catty, miniature 'Real Housewives'.

[Xyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the American Girl books. If I were the right age bracket I'd probably give 5 stars; but where I am I've seen a few similar situations that don't resovle quite as nicely.
Mckenna deals with a lot in these pages: not getting what she wants, overcoming embarrassment, dealing with her own and other's jealousies, prejudice, poor sportsmanship, deception, and physical injury. She doesn't do it alone; she has many coaches.
Even I learned a bit from this story. Josie and McKenna reminded me that poetry does not have to be hard. :)
I loved that the author had McKenna's friend Josie tell her it is okay to read any level book at any time in life. Some may roll their eyes at my reviews on "kids books," but I enjoy reading all levels and sometimes, in the harder times of life, it's just nice to escape or find solace in a younger person's story. That age of innocence.
I'm looking forward to the second installment of McKenna's story.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am quite a few years older than McKenna, yet I could relate immensely to her story. When I was her age, and younger, I did gymnastics, too. I loved her telling of her days there, and thought there was just enough of that in book. I could also relate to her stories with homework, staying up late to finish an assignment, using classical music to focus, trying hard to make school work,persevering, etc. I also liked her breathing gray sky credo a lot. I used it at school and at home. I tell myself to stay focused like McKenna! I loved her character so much, she's one of my favorite Girl of the Year's now. I loved her to no end, and this book was amazing. I finished it in a little over an hour.

[Megan M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is n expiring book!!! possibly the best book ive read so far.!!!!! its about a girl named mckenna. she loves gymnastics and shes shooting for the cometitive team and is also falling behind in school. her parents tell her to get a tuter. She gets a tutor her name is julie. they do lots of things together they went together on vacation and get gifts for each other but, mckenna is afraid to tell her friends she has a tutor. her friends find out and she looses focus on the day of her competition and she hurts herself. Will she ever be the same again ? will she keep doing gymnasics? read the book to find out.

[Tarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

McKenna is another great story from the American Girl series!

Since McKenna is a gymnast, many terms about gymnastics are used, which I found interesting. It helped add fine details to the story. Also, I enjoyed reading about Josie, a girl who uses a wheelchair to get around---the part she contributes to the story is quite inspiring. The full-page illustrations are neat, clean, & crisp! I thought the style of the pictures flowed well with the style of writing. Throughout the story, many books titles are mentioned, which I think may encourage readers to look into some of the other books mentioned. Overall, I think this is a good, solid story for young girls to be reading. Enjoy!

[Kaitlynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book McKenna written by Mary Casanova resemkbles a young girl who wants to acheive in gymnastics, but has poor gradses so her parents do not allow her too so her grades will go up and she gets an injury on this journey. Its writing is effecting and moving because it shows you that it is important to be safe and happy with what you have. This book is part of a series and I may continue to read the series, but I am not 100% sure. If you like gymnastics you would like this book and also if you like meeting new people that become your freinds. It is an amazingly written and demonstrated book with a few pictures to help you visualize it.

[QNPoohBear · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is decent. Sometimes it doesn't sound like a ten-year-old ("mink brown hair"). Mostly though it's not too bad. I liked McKenna's family. They're colorful and warm and loving.

The friend characters are a bit stereotypical but I sense a backstory for Toulane that isn't coming through in this first book.

The illustrations are dreadful. McKenna looks different in every picture and Toulane looks about 19.

If you like the GOTY books you'll probably like McKenna. I'm not wildly enthusiastic about any of them but some are better than others. This one falls in the better end of the spectrum but not the best.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

McKenna is an aspiring gymnast who is getting somewhat derailed from her dreams because of....schoolwork!

This is a good story tackling a problem that just about every kid goes through at some point - a struggle with a subject at school. How it's handled is interesting and fun to read instead of being one of those "problem books" that is without heart. This is a book I'd give to a struggling reader to enjoy.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story about choices a child makes as they grow up. Well done!

[Alexandria · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is just terrible. I don’t know how else to describe it. And, yeah, I get it, I’m definitely not the target audience for an American Girl book, but 8 year olds deserve better than this! The book is essentially about an aspiring gymnast named McKenna, who is Level 4 in the gym. When she enters 4th grade she starts to fall behind in reading comprehension, and then she gets a tutor and is forced to cut back on gymnastics. Then some more stuff happens, like she goes camping with her 12 year old tutor even though she’s, what, 9? And THEN she gets hurt at gymnastics and can’t do it at all for several weeks. There’s no climax in this story. In fact, the book is not divided into the steps of a good story at all, all the sudden, something (sort of?) suspenseful happens and then everything dies down for a while, and the book is more chill, and then all the sudden, there’s another action-packed “climactic” moment. It makes for a terrible story. I think the book puts way too much exaggeration on small things, which makes it sort of annoying. For example, McKenna has missed a couple of assignments at the very beginning of her 4th grade year, and is still working on improving her reading, as 9-year-olds should be, but already her teacher has intervened with her personal life and has set her up with a tutor. Another example is gymnastics. Training three days a week is not that much, and Level 4 isn’t that high. There’s no reason three days of a 90-minute practice at the gym per week should keep you from doing your homework. Just no reason whatsoever. How much homework do fourth graders even get? What’s more, every character in this book, like all American Girl books, are bland, boring, and two-dimensional. They don’t have exciting or unique personalities. McKenna just has a mind focused on her petty gymnastics, unexplained discrimination towards people in wheelchairs, a bratty attitude, and some obvious anxiety issues. One star.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

I turned up my nose at this book when it released, negatively comparing it to the real problems that historical American Girls experienced. However, even though needing a reading tutor in fourth grade shouldn't be a life-shaking crisis, I have mellowed with age and decided to give this book a chance.

It isn't nearly as bad as I expected. The author portrays McKenna's anxiety over her school struggles in a compassionate and engaging way, and even though McKenna's reflexive prejudice about people in wheelchairs is uncomfortable to read about, she of course overcomes this throughout the book. Josie, her tutor, is one of the best-developed characters in the story, and the individualized character development she gets helps offset the trope of a disabled person helping an able-bodied person become more compassionate.

Josie shares great advice to help McKenna overcome her reading difficulties, and the book has lots of great one-off literary references to series that I like, such as the Penderwicks, Narnia, and Lord of the Rings. I enjoyed this, but surprisingly, I didn't connect with the gymnastics parts of the story, even though I did gymnastics as a child and deeply loved it. The sports dramatizations involve too much technical language and specific breakdowns of movements, and I mostly glazed over these parts.

The book ends somewhat abruptly, but I actually liked this, because it set up the second book to continue developing what had just happened. Many Girl of the Year series from this era run out of steam in the second book, because the author had already resolved the central conflict and has to introduce a bunch of new drama to complete her contract. This, happily, was not one of those cases.

[Renae]

McKENNA (American Girl of the Year), by Mary Cassanova 📚Read with 8yo C (1/18): we read two chapters together (taking turns reading out loud), but most of it was read on our own. 📚 C’s review: I liked McKENNA because the author used very descriptive words. She also used feelings in the story, which help me understand the story better and also help me visualize the story better. McKenna is an interesting character because I can connect with her because I care about my friends, want to please my friends, and want to please my family. I would recommend this to girls who like gymnastics and girls 8-10 years old. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 📚 Renae’s review: When I was in elementary school, I loved reading books about kids a year or two older than me. I really liked this book for C, as it featured girls a couple of grades ahead of her who were working through some tough but not overly dramatic situations that I know she can relate to. As an adult reader, I could easily predict the resolution of the book’s plot points, but it was a delight to see C genuinely feel the tension of whether McKenna would catch up in school, make the gymnastics team, work out her conflicts with her friends, and so on. A great pick for C, spot on for her age and interests. 📚#sraftp2020

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

McKenna is a star gymnast with dreams of going to the Olympics. When her 4th grade teacher notices that she's falling behind in her schoolwork, she must meet with a tutor after school to work on reading comprehension. Embarrassed about needing help in school, McKenna tries to keep her tutoring a secret from her best friend and teammates. An injury during a gymnastics demonstration has McKenna sidelined for the time being but gives her the opportunity to learn how to overcome her struggles step by step and with help from others.

This is a quick read geared towards the 4h-6th grade range. Readers will identify with McKenna and the challenges she faces in school. This book also serves as a reminder to younger readers that it's okay to ask for help when needed.

[elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars for the amount of ableism from mckenna that adults never correct her on T^T i think this would’ve been better if an adult talked to mckenna about her tutor, josie, being in a wheelchair and how it doesn’t make her less than.

it made me so frustrated to read how mckenna referred to josie: “if this girl couldn’t walk, i didn’t know what else to expect. maybe she couldn’t talk or think clearly, either.” and “why hadn’t mr. wu (her teacher) warned me? […] the last thing i had expected was someone in a wheelchair. […] i was embarrassed to be seen being tutored, especially by a tutor who looked so, well, -different-.” what the fuck 🤨

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

McKenna is a solid book from American Girl. The setting is very vivid and the illustrations are nice--I wish there were more of them! I love the comparisons drawn between McKenna's gymnastics and her school challenges, and there are some great messages here, too. I loved McKenna's wise and sweet tutor, Josie. The portrayal of her wheelchair usage is upbeat and mostly done well--there are just a few lines that seemed off.

[Shani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect to like this in the slightest, not based on the first two chapters. But then, something wonderful happened: character growth! I love it! I also feel like she's a very realistic character, personality wise. I could see her being a real girl.

Now I'll admit, I feel like a few things still need progress, but hopefully I can get my hands on the sequel and find out if it helps with that.

[Loraena · Rating 4 out of 5]

American Girl books are usually good, and this one was, too. We read this aloud to our 7 year old, and it was great because just like our daughter, McKenna loves gymnastics, struggles with reading, and goes for tutoring. Themes cover how to be a good friend, asking for help, and taking responsibility for your actions.

[Hillary Nicholson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid story. McKenna loves gymnastics, and she is very competitive. However, school is getting harder and she finds out she has to get a tutor or quit gymnastics. McKenna learns techniques to help her in school by taking small steps at a time.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting book. I loved when McKenna learned techniques to improve her reading comprehension. My 7 year old and I use these now.😀 This kept her interest and was about so much more than gymnastics.

[Tess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the books I’ve read for this vlog, this is my favorite. I love McKenna’s story because I can relate to it. Even though I know next to nothing about gymnastics, I can relate to the comprehension issues she had and started to overcome. This was super cute and even inspiring

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked this book. more for girls than boys. it is about a gymnast.she brakes her leg. she needs help in school too.

[Liz Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

She's just like me!👙

[Jen Garthe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giving this one 4 stars from a kid's perspective. Read this one with Vivy and then we watched the movie as a fam during this social distancing. Wholesome, relatable, positive lessons.

[Ailee]

The book was ok, the movie was cute, but kinda annoying, like the Molly movie.

[Billie]

Not me using quarantine reading all of the American Girl books that I didn't actually read as a kid.

[Harper Mahlburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harper age 8:I like that Mckenna try on her homework.I like that Mckenna gave Josie a chance.I like that Mckenna fell but she kept on trying at school.